Definitions for quiddity

the quality that makes a thing what it is; the essential nature of a thing.

a trifling nicety of subtle distinction, as in argument.

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Citations for quiddity

If, argues he, we could only find out exactly what humour is 'in its quiddity,' we could keep ourselves humorous, or at any rate bring up our children to be so.Henry Duff Traill, "The Future of Humour," The New Fiction, 1897

Once this thought crossed my mind: every time an author dies, out of respect a word should also pass out of being. A word the author loved and used repeatedly in writing—that word should be his and die with him. Nabokov: quiddity… the essence of a thing; also, a trifling point, a trivial, inessential thing.Mary Ruefle, "Someone Reading a Book Is a Sign of Order in the World," Madness, Rack, and Honey, 2012